perpetuate
verb
per·pet·u·ate
pər-ˈpe-chə-ˌwāt 
perpetuated; perpetuating
: to make perpetual or cause to last indefinitely
perpetuate the species
Examples of perpetuate in a Sentence
He perpetuates the myth that his house is haunted.
Fears about an epidemic are being perpetuated by the media.
Recent Examples on the Web
The few projects that do apply computer vision to studying works of art seem to exist only to justify funding, which then perpetuates the rhetoric of machine learning’s promise.
—
Sonja Drimmer, Artforum, 1 Apr. 2025
If the secret of life is knowing when to stop, then perhaps that moment wasn’t Rick’s decision not to perpetuate Jim’s violence.
—Judy Berman, Time, 31 Mar. 2025
Because allowing wage history to determine new salaries perpetuates discrimination.
—Essence, 25 Mar. 2025
And never give up the kind of personal information that is beyond the scope of a simple quote for a service, scammers look to use this to perpetuate other frauds and attacks.
—Davey Winder, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perpetuate
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Sonja Drimmer, Artforum, 1 Apr. 2025
If the secret of life is knowing when to stop, then perhaps that moment wasn’t Rick’s decision not to perpetuate Jim’s violence.
—Judy Berman, Time, 31 Mar. 2025
Because allowing wage history to determine new salaries perpetuates discrimination.
—Essence, 25 Mar. 2025
And never give up the kind of personal information that is beyond the scope of a simple quote for a service, scammers look to use this to perpetuate other frauds and attacks.
—Davey Winder, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perpetuate
Cite this Entry
“Perpetuate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perpetuate. Accessed 7 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
perpetuate
verb
per·pet·u·ate
pər-ˈpech-ə-ˌwāt
perpetuated; perpetuating
: to make perpetual or cause to last indefinitely
Legal Definition
perpetuate
transitive verb
per·pet·u·ate
pər-ˈpe-chə-ˌwāt
perpetuated; perpetuating
: to preserve or make available (testimony) for later use at a trial by means of deposition especially when the evidence so gathered would be otherwise unavailable or lost
Note: Courts will not allow the perpetuation of testimony at a pretrial proceeding if it appears to be an attempt to fish for useful material.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share